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Cardiac Death

Complacent!!!!!! We were too cocky and arrogant. We thought we were untouchable and invincible. Never in a million years would I believe someone would try to hurt EMS personnel while helping one of their family members.

Abdominal pain is a sign and symptom of a myocardial infarction. Tunnel vision!!! Oh no, he has been drinking with a history of Pancreatitis. “That explains the abdominal pain.” We were way out of line. Scott should have never told the guy if he didn’t stop drinking he was going to die. The man stopped breathing right in front of us. The family felt as if Scott had jinxed him in some way. I know the both of us will never make that mistake again. Keep your beliefs and opinions to yourself unless they are asked for.

We cancelled the fire engine after seeing the patient. We did not perform an initial assessment to see if the patient was critical. We judged the book by its cover. This guy was having a big time MI and we both missed it! COMPLACENT!!!!!

If you get cocky in this line of work, you will get burned and people will suffer from your actions… The patient was going to have an MI no matter what, but we could have been more productive with having fire to respond until we found out further information. We could have been more receptive to the families needs as well. You have to put yourself in their shoes! You must show concern and have an understanding of their situation.

Alright, now let’s fry the big fish! SCENE SAFETY!!!!!!!!!!!

Scott and I should have run out of the house and got to a place of safety. Atlanta P.D. had not yet arrived on scene. What were we thinking? We weren’t thinking at all. Cocky!!!!! We as EMS personnel think we are invincible and were not…. You can get can yourself and your partner hurt or even worse…

Let’s sum it up! You never know what you are getting into or the real story behind the call until your on scene. Keep an open mind and always realize that a safe scene can become unsafe in a blink of an eye……